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Did the Montana Miracle Answer the State’s Housing Prayers?
Two years after making national headlines, bipartisan legislation has faced legal challenges. But zoning reform efforts are still moving forward.by: Taylor Moore March 18, 2026Two years after making national headlines, bipartisan legislation has faced legal challenges. But zoning reform efforts are still moving forward. -
How a Single Stairway Can Take Affordable Housing to a New Level
Cities are rethinking their codes to step up housing options and reduce construction costs.by: Joe Tedino November 17, 2025Cities are rethinking their codes to step up housing options and reduce construction costs. -
Modular Momentum: Boulder’s New Approach to Housing
How an innovative partnership in Colorado is helping solve the home affordability crisis.by: Natalie Missakian October 23, 2025How an innovative partnership in Colorado is helping solve the home affordability crisis. -
A Compass to Save the ‘Last Great Ski Town’ in Colorado
How value-based decision-making and robust community engagement drove the creation of Crested Butte’s resilient, comprehensive plan.by: Jon DePaolis October 16, 2025How value-based decision-making and robust community engagement drove the creation of Crested Butte’s resilient, comprehensive plan. -
Adaptive Reuse Revives a Casket Factory as Affordable Housing
Planners and developers are using tax credits, toolkits, and zoning reform to breathe new life into vacant commercial buildings.by: Bill Jones February 27, 2025Planners and developers are using tax credits, toolkits, and zoning reform to breathe new life into vacant commercial buildings. -
Rural Communities Embrace ADUs to Boost Housing Supply
How planners, lawmakers, and residents are changing attitudes and zoning rules about accessory dwelling units in small towns.by: Kevin Hardy December 17, 2024How planners, lawmakers, and residents are changing attitudes and zoning rules about accessory dwelling units in small towns. -
How Anchorage Effectively Eliminated Single-Family-Only Zoning
Elected officials (including a planner) and a housing advocate share in their own words what it took to adopt zoning reform and turn a “no” vote into “yes.”by: Jon DePaolis October 31, 2024Elected officials (including a planner) and a housing advocate share in their own words what it took to adopt zoning reform and turn a “no” vote into “yes.” -
New ADU Tools May Unlock Affordable Housing in Your Backyard
From California to Arkansas, ready-made design plans can reduce time and costs during the permitting process.by: Jon DePaolis September 26, 2024From California to Arkansas, ready-made design plans can reduce time and costs during the permitting process. -
Omaha Leverages Public-Private Partnerships to Increase Housing Supply
With an eye on equity, layering funding sources creates a revolving loan fund for developing or refurbishing housing.by: Jon DePaolis July 25, 2024With an eye on equity, layering funding sources creates a revolving loan fund for developing or refurbishing housing. -
Climate-impacted Native Alaskan Towns Seek Solutions in Manufactured Housing
Melting permafrost and a lack of labor add challenges to residential home building.by: Gregory Scruggs June 13, 2024Melting permafrost and a lack of labor add challenges to residential home building. -
Finding Solutions for Older Adults to Age in Grace
By considering the needs of a burgeoning senior population, planners can promote creative and community-focused housing options.by: Patrick Sisson February 29, 2024By considering the needs of a burgeoning senior population, planners can promote creative and community-focused housing options. -
Hiding in Plain Sight: Build-to-Rent and Multigenerational Housing
Zoning Practice — November 2024by: Derrick Rhys Wilson, AICP November 01, 2024This issue of Zoning Practice explores how development regulations affect opportunities for build-to-rent and multigenerational housing development. It begins with a summary of suburban housing supply challenges before examining the key features of and potential zoning approaches for two emerging types of subtle mixed-residential development.List Price$10.00ZP Subscriber$0.00 -
Doing Public Participation Better
Zoning Practice — September 2024by: Anika Lemar September 01, 2024This issue of Zoning Practice recounts some key flaws of typical public participation processes and, more importantly, proposes some solutions. Some of the proposals described here can be adopted and implemented by city, town, and county staff and commissioners. Others will require changes to state enabling legislation.List Price$10.00ZP Subscriber$0.00 -
Reclaiming the Missing Middle Ground: How Planners Got NIMBYs to Yes
During a contentious zoning debate, planners in Arlington, Virginia, used data and meaningful engagement to help the community expand housing choices.by: Patrick Sisson December 14, 2023During a contentious zoning debate, planners in Arlington, Virginia, used data and meaningful engagement to help the community expand housing choices. -
5 Housing Trends Planners Can Influence Now
From commercial-to-residential conversions to the rise of coliving, here’s what you should know today for a more equitable tomorrow.by: Joseph DeAngelis, AICP August 10, 2023From commercial-to-residential conversions to the rise of coliving, here’s what you should know today for a more equitable tomorrow. -
Equitable Zoning for Manufactured Housing
Zoning Practice — April 2024by: George Frantz April 01, 2024This issue of Zoning Practice examines the persistent inequitable treatment of manufactured housing in many local zoning codes and offers considerations for code updates. It begins with brief summaries of the important role manufactured housing plays in supporting housing choice and affordability and includes findings from a five-state analysis of zoning regulations for manufactured housing.List Price$10.00ZP Subscriber$0.00 -
Housing Diversity Encourages Age-Friendly, Accessible Communities
AARP’s Rodney Harrell talks about aging in place, ADUs, and how zoning reform can help planners provide housing that meets community needs.by: Brenna Donegan June 01, 2023AARP’s Rodney Harrell talks about aging in place, ADUs, and how zoning reform can help planners provide housing that meets community needs. -
Mayor Victoria Woodards Is Making Tacoma a Place to Come Home To
How the local leader uses partnerships, missing middle infill, and the Housing Supply Accelerator to put more roofs over more heads.by: Lindsay Nieman May 02, 2023How the local leader uses partnerships, missing middle infill, and the Housing Supply Accelerator to put more roofs over more heads. -
Pattern Zones and Pre-Reviewed Homes
Zoning Practice — January 2024by: Richard Murphy, AICP, Melissa Milton-Pung January 01, 2024This issue of Zoning Practice explores how a pattern approach to zoning, incorporating pre-reviewed building plans, may help communities expand housing choice and affordability. It begins with a brief examination of historical precedents before outlining the key components of a pattern zoning program and highlighting potentially complementary strategies.List Price$10.00ZP Subscriber$0.00 -
What Is Zoning Reform and Why Do We Need It?
The case for change, why planners support it, and six zoning reform tactics that could help curb housing costs.by: Patrick Sisson January 18, 2023The case for change, why planners support it, and six zoning reform tactics that could help curb housing costs. -
Zoning Reform Creates New Model for Smart Growth in Walla Walla, Washington
How the rural city eliminated single-family-only zoning, legalized ADUs, and relaxed parking minimums to promote housing diversity.by: Patrick Sisson September 21, 2022The rural city eliminated single-family-only zoning, legalized ADUs, and relaxed parking minimums to promote housing diversity. Here's how planners helped get it done. -
A Business Case for Dropping Parking Minimums
In the smallest of towns and the biggest of cities, these new zoning reform policies help boost small businesses, promote housing development, and put people over parking.by: Jeff Spivak June 01, 2022In the smallest of towns and the biggest of cities, these new zoning reform policies help boost small businesses, promote housing development, and put people over parking. -
Practice Gentle Density
Zoning Practice — February 2023by: Jacqueline Berg, AICP, John Houseal, FAICP February 01, 2023This issue of Zoning Practice explores zoning strategies that balance the concerns of residents and the demands of the housing market by accommodating gentle density increases in a context-sensitive manner. From historic downtown neighborhoods to modern residential subdivisions, the tools presented can be used by planners throughout the country to implement housing policy through regulation.List Price$10.00ZP Subscriber$0.00 -
Beyond Use Zoning: The Role of Deregulation in Housing Equity
Zoning Practice — May 2022by: John Zeanah, FAICP May 01, 2022This issue of Zoning Practice explores how accessory use standards, dimensional standards, and building codes affect opportunities to build missing middle housing. And it highlights how Memphis and other cities are looking beyond use zoning to advance goals of housing equity in reforming codes and policies.List Price$10.00ZP Subscriber$0.00 -
Preserving Manufactured Home Communities
PAS Memo — September-October 2020Despite the desirability of manufactured housing for many homeowners and the contribution of this unsubsidized affordable housing stock to communities, a variety of factors threaten MHCs with transformation or loss. Though some new MHCs continue to be established in some regions, anecdotally, loss is the bigger trend. -
3 Zoning Changes That Make Residential Neighborhoods More Affordable
Zoning reform is one of our greatest weapons against rising housing costs. Here's how we can wield it.by: Robert Liberty February 01, 2021After 100-plus years of prioritizing single-family zoning, cities and states are welcoming diverse housing types back to the neighborhood. -
Zoning for Office-to-Housing Conversions
Zoning Practice — February 2022by: Elizabeth Garvin, AICP, Mary Madden, AICP February 01, 2022This issue of Zoning Practice summarizes the benefits of adaptive reuse and widespread barriers to converting offices to residences. Then, it explores how different zoning standards and techniques affect opportunities to adaptively reuse office spaces for residences.List Price$10.00ZP Subscriber$0.00 -
Partnering with Health Systems on Affordable Housing Investments
PAS Memo — March-April 2021by: Alyia Gaskins March 01, 2021The March/April 2021 edition of PAS Memo explains why and how planners can partner with hospitals and health systems to create more equitable communities through affordable housing development.List Price$0.00 -
Using Faith-Based Land for Affordable Housing
Zoning Practice — July 2023This issue of Zoning Practice explores the growing trend of developing transitional and permanent affordable housing on underused faith-based land. It examines the relationship between land supply and the housing crisis, the reasons why religious institutions are increasingly interested in development partnerships, and the zoning standards that can limit development opportunities. -
Equitable Zoning for Manufactured Housing
Zoning Practice — April 2024This issue of Zoning Practice examines the persistent inequitable treatment of manufactured housing in many local zoning codes and offers considerations for code updates. It begins with brief summaries of the important role manufactured housing plays in supporting housing choice and affordability and includes findings from a five-state analysis of zoning regulations for manufactured housing. -
Practice Gentle Density
Zoning Practice — February 2023This issue of Zoning Practice explores zoning strategies that balance the concerns of residents and the demands of the housing market by accommodating gentle density increases in a context-sensitive manner. From historic downtown neighborhoods to modern residential subdivisions, the tools presented can be used by planners throughout the country to implement housing policy through regulation. -
Hiding in Plain Sight: Build-to-Rent and Multigenerational Housing
Zoning Practice — November 2024This issue of Zoning Practice explores how development regulations affect opportunities for build-to-rent and multigenerational housing development. It begins with a summary of suburban housing supply challenges before examining the key features of and potential zoning approaches for two emerging types of subtle mixed-residential development. -
Opening the Door to Unconventional Homes
Zoning Practice — March 2025This issue of Zoning Practice explores the rise of unconventional housing types, such as barndominiums, 3D-printed homes, and shipping-container homes, and examines common regulatory barriers and potential regulatory reforms planners and local officials may be able to use to foster housing innovation and advance sustainable, resilient, and inclusive housing solutions. -
Protecting Zoning Reform Gains
Zoning Practice — August 2024This issue of Zoning Practice reviews recent legal challenges to state and local zoning reform legislation and offers strategies for planners and their allies who must defend against them. It profiles four specific reform efforts that faced legal challenges, and then offers tips and strategies to help planners implement and defend similar zoning reforms. -
Doing Public Participation Better
Zoning Practice — September 2024This issue of Zoning Practice recounts some key flaws of typical public participation processes and, more importantly, proposes some solutions. Some of the proposals described here can be adopted and implemented by city, town, and county staff and commissioners. Others will require changes to state enabling legislation. -
Harvesting Benefits from Incentive Zoning
Zoning Practice — May 2025This issue of Zoning Practice explores how incentive-based zoning has evolved over the decades to become an increasingly effective tool in helping communities reach their planning goals and community vision. It begins with an overview of the origins and evolution of incentive-based zoning in the U.S. before presenting a modern, three-pronged approach. -
Zoning Alternatives to Penalizing Homelessness
Zoning Practice — January 2026This issue of Zoning Practice explores regulatory alternatives to criminalizing homelessness. Following a discussion of the state of homelessness and the costs of criminalization, it outlines zoning and land-use-based solutions that balance the rights of the unhoused with a jurisdiction’s duty to promote public health, safety, and welfare. -
Preserving Manufactured Home Communities
PAS Memo — September-October 2020by: Crystal Launder September 01, 2020The September/October 2020 PAS Memo provides an overview of mobile and manufactured housing, including the value it offers residents and the broader community and the risks it is subject to, and it examines the various solutions for its preservation that have been pursued in Boulder, Colorado, and elsewhere.List Price$10.00Member$0.00 -
Housing Reform Through State Legislation and Local Zoning
Zoning Practice — June 2019by: Catherine Hinshaw, Joseph DeAngelis, AICP June 01, 2019This issue of Zoning Practice examines influential local zoning approaches to housing affordability challenges, highlights examples of state legislative efforts related to zoning in local communities, and discusses the variety of ways in which states are increasingly engaging in this conversation. -
Data-Driven Housing Assessments and Action Plans, Part 2: Analytical Techniques and Taking Action
PAS Memo — July-August 2017by: Melissa Jones July 01, 2017The July/August 2017 issue of PAS Memo, part 2 of a two-part series, describes additional techniques for analyzing publicly available housing data and offers recommendations for programs, policies, and partnerships to take action based on the results of housing needs assessments.List Price$10.00Member$0.00 -
Data-Driven Housing Assessments and Action Plans, Part 1: The Data
PAS Memo — May-June 2017by: Melissa Jones May 01, 2017The May/June 2017 issue of PAS Memo, part 1 of a two-part series, describes key sources of data for housing need assessments and provides guidance to planners on how to use them to evaluate current housing availability and housing needs.List Price$10.00Member$0.00 -
Planning for Action
Communities in crisis take on affordability with Housing Action Plans.March 01, 2019Housing Action Plans take into account the full range of a city’s housing challenges to set priorities, identify solutions, and build a long-term, holistic plan of action. -
Fair Housing at 50
We’ve had a half-century to fulfill this promise. How have we done?April 01, 2018Half a century after the Fair Housing Act was passed, can the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule get the U.S. closer to the goal?
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